Academic Improvement
How do they do it? What happens in these schools to accelerate achievement by all students? Northern Illinois University researchers are surveying principals in all the award-winning schools to determine key factors in their success. A full report will be available in summer 2004. Individual school reports will be added to the page for each school on this website.
To learn how they do it from the experts, you can contact principals directly. Please note that many principals, especially in small schools, are multi-taskers. Besides providing school leadership, some of them also may coach basketball and drive buses, so not all will have time to chat.
Speaking to award winners from 33 central Illinois schools on May 19, 2004, State Superintendent Robert Schiller reported key factors in school improvement reported so far in the survey of principals.
- Exceptional leadership is the most pervasive element.
- Dedicated teachers are essential.
- Nearly every principal cited strenuous efforts to align curriculum across grades with the Illinois Learning Standards.
- Teamwork is not a buzzword for these schools; it requires constant coaching, training, and building collaboration.
- School teams studied test results and wrote action plans to improve both teaching and learning.
- These schools aimed higher than “the bar” and celebrated every step toward success.
- A majority of principals credited their school’s success to new programs in reading and writing.
- Improving test scores was only part of the challenge; the other part was changing attitudes toward change.
- Principals say that community wide cooperation is necessary to make change happen.
List of 100 Award-Winning Schools
Most Improved Elementary Schools
Most Improved Middle Schools
Most Improved High Schools
Most Improved Chicago Schools
Research on high-poverty, high-performing schools by Glenn "Max" McGee, Ph.D., conducted at NIU in 2002, identified common characteristics of these schools. NIU Researchers are testing the hypothesis that similar strategies may be used to "turn around" low-performing schools and sustain progress.
In "Closing Illinois' Achievement Gap: Lessons from the Golden Spike Schools," Dr. McGee listed the following common characteristics of the high-poverty, high-performing schools:
Commonalities of Spotlight Schools
- Exemplary principals who are leaders of learning, who are resourceful, who craft a culture of high expectations, and who model leadership daily
- A hard working, devoted staff that has the highest expectations, demands excellence, and REALLY believes each student can succeed
- Early literacy programs that focus on prevention and early intervention
- Policies, programs, and services to include parents in the school and to educate parents in both parenting and in academic skills
- Access to good nutrition and health care for all students
- School-wide professional development on a single topic related to school improvement planning
- Sharing of local and state assessment data and systematic use of that data to improve teaching and learning
- Frequent celebrations and ceremonies
- Strong connection to early childhood programs
- Access to books in the classroom and formal recognition of reading progress
- Ready access to a host of after school, before school and Saturday programs
- Summer school for most students
- Technology used to enhance learning and for analyzing and charting data
- School improvement plans focused on a small number of improvement initiatives that are embraced, supported, and sustained by the entire school community.
Watch this website for more information on how exemplary improvement can happen in all kinds of schools, everywhere in Illinois.
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